LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Once construction for the I-65 Central Corridor project starts June 1, getting to the hospitals in downtown Louisville will simply take longer. First responders servicing both southern Indiana and counties south of Louisville will experience heavy traffic, and that could extend route times.

Marcellus Lorrick, who runs up to 10 routes a day as an EMT for AmeriPro Ambulance Services, expects hospital transfers to take much longer this summer.

AmeriPro provides ambulance services for Floyd County and Louisville Metro.

"It's inevitable that it's going to happen, and there's nothing we can really do about it except work around it," Lorrick said Thursday. "But I'm really curious about how those 911 calls get to the hospital fast with those roads being closed."

In 10 days, Interstate 65 will shut down for two months, and thousands of Louisville drivers will deal with a gridlock all over the city.  Five miles of I-65 will close from Interstate 264 northward to Jefferson Street so crews can repair three aging bridges along the highway. 

The planned detour will take drivers around the city on I-264, the Georgia Davis Powers Expressway in the western part of town, back to I-65 at the I-264 interchanges. 

Kent Barrow from Floyd County Emergency Management Agency has been in countless discussions in the last few weeks with neighboring counties. He said the detours have made them rethink which exits they need to take and which streets will present the quickest path through the city to get to trauma centers downtown.

But Barrow said he received more reassuring information Thursday from the Indiana Department of Transportation.

"We found out that 65 is going to be open all the way to the 64 exit on the Kentucky side," he said. "So our traffic is still going to be heavier than normal but maybe won't be as bad as we thought in the beginning."

Sam Trujillo with Heartland Ambulance Service said, however, that the time will still add up.

"It could be from 45 minutes — maybe even an hour — getting back," he said.

The traffic getting back into Indiana from Louisville will likely extend the time it takes for ambulances to respond to emergency calls. Some private ambulance companies said they may bring on more ambulances during construction. 

The I-65 Central Corridor Improvement project is expected to begin around 12:01 a.m. June 1. To learn more about the project or to follow along for updates, click here.

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